ARDEN HILLS/WINONA, Minn. – Senior Alison Bode set the meet record in the 5,000-meter run to highlight the St. Olaf College women's track and field team's performances at the Bethel Invitational and Cardinal Invitational to open the outdoor season on Saturday at Royal Stadium and Saint Mary's Track & Field Complex.

Bode was the lone event winner on the day for St. Olaf, which sent its throwers to Winona while the rest of its roster competed in Arden Hills in its first full weekend of action this outdoor season. Both meets were unscored.

Bode broke the meet record of 17:21.94 set by Carleton College's Hannah Preisser in 2023 by over 10 seconds with a winning time of 17:09.80, finishing over 90 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. The senior's time ranks 21st nationally and second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) so far this outdoor season.

First year Abi Lindquist and junior Molly Kate McCloskey were the next two finishers after Bode, with Lindquist taking second (18:46.73) and McCloskey third (18:49.73), as five Oles finished in the top 10 in the event.

Coming off a standout indoor season that included All-America honors in the 800-meter run, junior Isabel Wyatt was the runner-up in that event to start her outdoor season in 2:14.04. That time trailed only an NCAA Division II runner from the University of Minnesota Duluth and ranks in the top 30 nationally.

Junior Claire Keech recorded a top-10 program mark in the javelin throw, taking fifth with a mark of 33.17 meters (108' 10"), which sits 10th on the Oles' all-time list. St. Olaf's other top-five finish at Bethel came from sophomore Molly DiNardo, senior Jules Fromm, sophomore Nora Mickelson, and Wyatt in the 4x400-meter relay (5th, 4:05.20).

Junior Lauren Walda and senior Sophie Abernethy ran the MIAC's top-two times so far this season in the 1,500-meter run, with Walda taking seventh (4:48.68) and Abernethy eighth (4:49.00).

Down in Winona, junior Aries Mendez recorded the top finish for the Oles with a runner-up performance in the javelin throw (31.50m, 103' 4"). First year Logan Paulsen and senior Emma Johnson also posted top-10 program marks, with Paulsen moving into 10th in the discus throw (38.50m, 126' 3") and Johnson rising to fifth in the hammer throw (41.79m, 137' 1").

St. Olaf will send groups to the University of St. Thomas Easter Meet in St. Paul and the Phil Esten Challenge (10K) in La Crosse, Wis. on Thursday, April 17.